Rattlesnake Round-Up

[BlkMambaVenom]

Hello all. I have persuasive speech to give for my oral comm. class in college. I am going to try to convince my class that the Rattlesnake Round-up event is an act of cruelty etc. Anyone know of any good sites about this event , so i can get more information on it? Also, any recomendations for any good Rattlesnake books to get? I was going to use them for pictures as well as information about the different species of Rattlesnake in general. Thanks for all your input.

Brittany

[Crotalus75]

Here is a link with some info on these environmentally degrading events:

http://www.anapsid.org/darnell2.html

Also check out the links at the bottom of that page.

[BoidKeeper]

Rattlesnake Round-up event is an act of cruelty etc.
Of course it's cruetly. There's no puppy round up I'll tell you that! The only reason they get away with doing that to an animal is because people hate snakes. You would never be allowed to have a gopher round up!
Best of luck to you,
Trevor

[Mustangrde1]

Brittany

Rattlesnake Roundups have been a part of the culture for as far back as the 1800s. They are a social gathering point in many areas of the country and billed as fun and entertaining at least for the humans involved.

The facts for the animals speak volumes though. Snakes are driven from resting areas with gasoline or smoke they are held for weeks or months without food or water in crowded pens with feces all over. They are roughly handled during the event and are often skinned alive or have their mouths sewn shut, and are killed using methods that are inappropriate for any animal.

Rattlesnake populations are being destroyed by collection for these events. The gas and other chemicals used to collect snakes are destructive to all wildlife that come in contact with them. Take for instance the Eastern Diamond Back Rattlesnake {Crotalus adamentus }. They use the burrows of Gopher tortoise which is used by other wildlife "including federally protected species" this practice destroys the entire burrow and the other creatures within it. Or in the West the Western Diamond Back Rattlesnake {Crotalus atrox }uses the same rocky caves and outcroppings as the Stephen's Kangaroo Rat a highly protect species. Also the snakes are transported long distances to roundups and in some cases are released and have become established in areas where they did not previously occur. They then become invasive and compete with the native wildlife. Introduction of nonnative species is illegal as well.

Also If you remove one of the apex predators from an area the prey will have a population explosion Rat, Rabbit, Squirrels, Possum and Raccoons that have been know to carry Rabies and other detrimental decease to humans will grow. This will increase the health hazard to humans. This has been proven in many other cases not just related to rattlesnakes. You cannot remove the predators without adversely affecting the prey. From a monetary aspect if you start removing more of the predators you increase the rodent populations which can in turn eat more of the grain and corns, etc., from a farm causing higher prices for at both the feed houses then passed on to the consumer.

The Federal Government and Local States now are starting to list certain species of Rattlesnakes as Endangered or of Special concern. These roundups are very much part of the reason. When collectors knowingly seek out Den sites and collect the animals they destroy a population from an area. From satellite tracking data it has been shown that rattlers live in relatively small geographic area when compared to other species of animals. It is a fact that many of these animals come back year after year to the same den sight further validating that evidence.

[Brodie]

wow....thats a truly horrible and saddening story...... and not just for the snake, from what you said mustangrde1 it is having an impact on other wildlife as well... oh wells i hope something is done about it.. i think what ure doing is great blkmamba!!

[Crotalus75]

Not to mention the fact that local governments and argricultural boards SUPPORT this inhumanity. These slaughters are seen as a way for rural communities to increase tourism and gain revenue. One would think that in the 21st century we could come up with a much better alternative than slaughtering and torturing animals as entertainment. Some states have replaced these events with ecologically friendly festivals, but in Texas and other states these grizly events rage on. THOUSANDS of snakes are killed every year at these shameful and ignorant events. As Mustangrde1 stated this would never be allowed with any other organism. This is the same sort of fear and hatred mentallity that leads to reptile pet legislation and odd "pet suitability" issues. I just don't understand why most people can't see the awesome beauty in these magnificent organisms.

[SCReptiles]

Brittany, there are far more then one rattlesnake roundup. You are probably thinking about the one in Sweetwater, TX. That is the largest. Its going to be hard to make a case on that one cause its an economic boost to the local economy and the western diamond back is plentiful. There are several round ups in the eastern part of the county that you can build a better case against. The Eastern diamond back numbers are way down! Karl Betz, of the Southern Eastern Hot Herp Society wrote an article for our news letter about a south GA town that made the decision to halt their roundup this past year. Instead they held a little festival. Karl took some diamond backs down to display for it. You can contact him at Buzztail1@hotmail.com. I am sure he can provide you details and probably a copy of his article. And for the money, “Rattlesnake, portrait of a predator” is the best book you can get on the subject. If possible you should also resource venomous reptiles of north America. You can also find a good selection of photo at http://www.venomousreptiles.org/pages/rattlesnake . Good luck to you on this speech. Email me if I can be of any help to you.

[jtpRUGGER]

I agree with everything you said, Chuck, except the comment about atrox being common for the sweetwater roundup...true, atrox are very common in this area. Maybe even more than common. But it isn't always atrox and viridis at the sweetwater roundup. Other species that don't occur within the "range" of the roundup are common at this event, including lepidus and molossus. Just a side note.

As for books, Chuck is absolutely right. Portrait of a Predator by Manny Rubio is the best for the money...second to that is Rattlesnakes by L. Klauber.

[Lisa]

this report was written by some one who attended the sweetwater round up in 99
take out the spaces www . kingsnake . com/roundup/